My Riddles Three
by Oboebyrd
Summary: The Titans face some mythical monsters who are out for a little blood. Rating 'just in case'. Alot of gratuitous violence.
1. My Riddles Three

_My Riddles Three___

_I do not own Teen Titans, either the comic book adaptation or the version I am using now, which is based off of the Television series. I do not own any of the mythological beasts presented here. I do, however, own a very adorable budgie. Her name is Bluebell and she eats people who try to sue me._

_~~~~~~~~~~_

"Trouble,"

There never seemed to be a time for relaxation around the Titan's Tower. Raven looked up from the book she had been reading- she had just gotten to an interesting part- and Cyborg and Beast Boy's noisy video game had just gotten quiet enough that she might have been able to concentrate on her reading. She sighed- now it would be yet another week before she could get a good day's worth of reading in.

Robin stood at the door to the den, obviously waiting for some sort of reaction from his teammates. Cyborg and Beast Boy still stared intently at their game- so intently that they hadn't blinked in about three minutes. Starfire had been staring at their game with a vapid, disinterested look in her green eyes, and she was the only one to turn towards Robin, looking a little too excited at the prospect of danger, as it interrupted the boredom.

"Guys? Trouble," Robin said, and then, more firmly, "turn that OFF."

"Oh, come ON. I was just about to beat him!" Beast Boy protested, but nevertheless put down the controller and turned towards Robin. Cyborg immediately decapitated Beast Boy's character. The half-robot man turned towards Robin, a big grin on his face.

  
"What kind of trouble this time?" Cyborg asked.

"There's an all-out attack on the city below- the police weren't exactly specific. I just know it's bad. Come on," Robin said.

The Teen Titans immediately raced towards the exit- all except for Raven. 

Something flickered at the edge of Raven's vision- she turned slightly, and caught a glimpse of a tan blur disappearing around the corner of the tower. "Guys… I believe I saw-"

She was too late. Her other four teammates, as always, had completely missed what she had said, being in slightly more of a rush to get out the door first and claim the prized status of being on the scene before the others. Raven shrugged- she could catch up with them later- and slipped towards the hallway.

She slid down the hallway, silent as a shadow- though stealth was not exactly possible; her midnight blue cloak, against the pale blue paint of the hallways, was about as inconspicuous as a crow in snowfall. Raven felt no overwhelming need to be stealthy- after all, she could very well being tracking a figment of her imagination.

No… there it was again. Something- something fairly large- none-too-quietly scuffled around the corner as she rounded another turn in the hallway. Raven sped up, racing down the hallway after the intruder. Once again, it just barely eluded her; whoever- whatever- this was moved fairly fast. 

Raven ducked around another corner- and then dropped into a crouch as a board swung at her head.

No- not a board- it was a paw, an enormous brown paw built like a lion's. Raven slipped out of the way as the creature she had been chasing suddenly became the hunter, bounding towards her. Less surprised than just annoyed, Raven glided up towards the ceiling- effectively out of the creature's reach. She stared dubiously down at the creature, who growled back up at her.

It had the thin, finely boned face of a rather attractive woman- with the exception of the glowing, yellow eyes and pointed, fur-tipped ears. A long mane of auburn hair ran down the creature's neck, into her back- where the fur utterly consumed her body, turning it into a shaggy, ape-like body. Instead of human hands and feet she had lion paws- and a lion's tail. From her back, just below the shoulder blades protruded two small, utterly useless and somewhat furry wings. The creature grinned up at Raven, long, yellowed fangs bared in contempt.

It… she… was a Sphinx.

~~~~~~~~

  
"Where's Raven?" Beast Boy asked a little belatedly, as the Titans barreled towards their destination. 

"Good question. Where is that girl?" Cyborg demanded. He seemed fairly more disturbed by Starfire, who was ignoring the human's 'personal space rule' and flying about three inches above his head, than the whereabouts of their fellow teammate.

Robin chanced a glance behind him and, as they came upon the scene of the destruction, simply muttered, "We'll have to find her later." 

Mass chaos had swallowed half the city. Cars were tipped, crashed, and left deserted, still running, in the streets and over the sidewalks. Pieces of buildings had been torn from their foundation and lay strewn about the cityscape. Those few people who had not fled… lay strewn as aimlessly as the bricks and concrete. "They're- they are no longer living!" Starfire exclaimed in horror.

Robin peered grimly over the mess. "Where are they?" He asked as he searched for some sign of whoever had done the damage.

"Why, my good friend, we are right here," hissed a low, refined voice.

The fallen stones and pieces of brick began to move- and take form. Plaster pebbles and rocks wrapped themselves around a humanoid form; long, slim limbs, a disgustingly long and drawn visage, a long, whipping tail. Wings were plastered together by the smaller of the pebbles- two long, slim horns grew from the beast's skull. The concrete thickened, hardened- drew black, to perfect, polished obsidian. The creature languidly stretched- and its eyes opened, stonework cracking along the edge and sealing back over just as quickly. Dead, empty pools stared at the Teen Titans. The Gargoyle saw their look of stupefied amazement and horror and it's face cracked into a grin.

A low growl from behind alerted them to another beast slinking over the tops of the cars. This beast was a deep, beating red, as if dyed in the blood of its prey. A Manticora. It had the body of a lion, the small, stunted wings of a dragon, and the long, menacing tail of a scorpion, its barbed stinger dripping with milky white venom. The worst was, framed by a scarlet mane, it's face- a horrible parody of man and cat, freakishly twisted around frighteningly human eyes. It snarled again- three rows of teeth glinted, shock white, in its cavernous mouth.

And, from the other side, the rattling hiss of a dozen snakes- a dozen sinuous heads, yellow and slick as night time before a storm. Two dozen glaring, beady black eyes. All of this, connected to one slimy, vomit-yellow body. Two long, barbed tails followed the amphibious bulk. The Hydra's many heads twined and twisted about each other, the heads taking turns in peering at the various titans.

"Now," growled the Manticora, surprising all as they had thought it had been the Gargoyle who had at first spoken, "I suppose it is fair to *warn* you to look away… for now we summon our Brother Basilisk…"

Something alongside the Titan's moved- moved with the sound of a knife scraping against stone. An enormous snake twined around them- not quite a snake, but something close- its body as thick and strong as a tree trunk, tiny, stunted and worthless claw-like limbs hanging at its sides. The Basilisk hissed a horrible, rattling snarl. Beast Boy stared into the mirrors- caught a flash of its baleful red eyes. To look a Basilisk directly in the eyes… deadly. If these were, in fact, really mythological beasts…

"Oh, I wouldn't look, my dear," the Manticora said with a laugh, to Starfire, "let me assure you, his gaze is much more deadly than his bite."

"Who are you?" Robin asked, keeping his voice steady, and his eyes locked on the deep azure eyes of the Manticora, "Who sent you?"

"Who sent us?" The Manticora repeated, and laughed. His laughter resonated about the clearing like the ringing of a dozen musical bells, "my dear boy, why do you think someone *sent* us? Is it not natural for four monsters of a Graecian past to come and attack you? Do we need a reason to want to see you dead?"

The Obsidian Gargoyle shrieked. The multiple heads of the Hydra hissed. The Basilisk's low hissed echoed in their ears. The Manticora nodded- and as one, the four creatures attacked.

~~~~~

The Sphinx stared evenly up at Raven. "Your friends are in danger. Surely you know that by now. But in order to get to them, you must first get past me. You must first answer my riddles three."    

_~~End part 1~~_


	2. Everyone Wants It

_My Riddles Three___

_I do not own Teen Titans. I do not own Teen Titans. Obviously I don't own Teen Titans. If I owned Teen Titans it would not be made for kids. It would be made for teenagers who don't have enough money to buy gas for their car so they can go clubbing each night._

_~~~~~~~~~_

"I do not have time for this foolishness," Raven said coldly. "If you plan to attack me- do so. But if my friends are in danger, I must go them," Raven said. 

"You cannot leave," the Sphinx said and Raven found it was so- she could hardly move at all. She glared down at the Sphinx, who sneered cheerfully back up at her. "Now, come down here," and Raven could not help but obey, "and listen to me."

  
"I have no choice," Raven sneered. 

"You have two choices. One- to answer my riddles correctly, and go free. Two- to answer my riddles incorrectly. Then I shall probably eat you," the Sphinx said with a broad, yellow smile.

Raven's eyes burned helplessly under her hood- she could not *move*, and she definitely couldn't attack! "And if I choose the third choice?"

The Sphinx's vile grin widened. "Then, I eat you."

  
"Ask your riddles," Raven snapped.

The Sphinx nodded, and settled back to a sitting position. Raven felt her body drift lazily to hover directly in front of the Sphinx, who peered at her in amusement. "Very well, girl, then ask I shall. This is the first…

_"Everyone wants it_

_Yet it belongs to a few_

_Fewer still can use it_

_Harm comes to those who do,"_

The Sphinx stared at Raven in amusement. "So tell me… what is it?"

~~~~~

Starfire took to the sky to avoid the charge of the creatures- the Gargoyle launched off of the ground after her. With a cry of dismay, the orange alien rocketed upwards- the Obsidian monster followed much more gracelessly, its heavy stone wings dragging its body through the air. Starfire threw a handful of green energy at the monster- her attack slid harmlessly off of its body, slipping over the shiny black stone. Starfire turned and fled higher as the Obsidian Gargoyle approached, reaching for her with jagged rock claws.

Robin leapt straight for the Manticora, leaping past the monster's shaggy red mane. The Boy Wonder felt the rush of wind from the Manticora's tail as the monster attempted to strike him- but Robin was, at least for the moment, faster than the lion-like monster. Robin threw a small explosive device onto the Manticora's back- the explosion sent a small cloud of blood red fur rocketing into the air, scorched off of the Manticora's back.

Faster than Robin would have thought such a large beast could move, the Manticora had flipped around, and one enormous paw swung at the much smaller human. Robin ducked aside- the razor-sharp tips of the creature's claws ripped thin trails of cloth out of his shirt. 

The Manticora laughed, and laughed even harder at Robin's even glare. "What's the matter, boy- did I tear your favorite shirt?"   
  
Robin pointed down at the ground between the Manticora's feet. Slightly perturbed, the Manticora glanced down- at the small metal disk Robin had *also* dropped at his feet. "It wasn't my favorite shirt," Robin said. The explosive device exploded, enveloping the Manticora in a cloud of smoke.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was battling with the Hydra. The snake's breath stank, making Cyborg gag even through his metal filters. And nothing he tried against the disgusting snake seemed to work. His powerful hands grabbed one hissing head after the other- and pulled them out of the snake's body whole. He dropped the still-hissing heads underfoot- only to find two more pushing towards him.

So far the Hydra's teeth had been unable to penetrate his armor. But its poisonous breath had to have some sort of corrosive effect on his metal- and it wasn't doing anything for his skin. It wouldn't be long before either his metal body-plating started rusting or the Hydra found his soft, tasty skin. What he was doing now wasn't working.

Cyborg jumped back out of range, and lowered his arm, pointing his sonic cannon at the Hydra's amphibious body. "Here's a breath mint for ya!" He shouted, and blasted the Hydra full in the chest.

The Hydra was split apart, half of it sliding one way, the other half flopping to the ground. Acid slime oozed from its ruined halves, eating into the concrete.

"Guess I showed that guy," Cyborg began, and turned to assist Robin with the Manticora.

Something slimy and wet wrapped around his leg. Cyborg turned around with a cry of disgust- only to see that there were now *two* Hydras slithering towards him, heads hissing with as much single-minded hate as before.

That left Beast Boy with the Basilisk. And he was not at all happy.

"Oh geez oh geez oh geez!" he muttered, using all of the animal forms he could think of to stay clear of the Basilisk's gaze. It had to look at him head- on… had to have eye contact- and he was not going to give it a chance to do that!

The only way he could keep track of the Basilisk, without seeing it, was to listen for its distinctive sounds. Its bone-rattling hiss. The sound of its diseased-colored blue-grey scales scraping against the concrete. Luckily, since the Basilisk could not be looked at, it had provided its potential prey with plenty of things to listen for!

 The Basilisk's breath was suddenly hot on his neck. With an 'eep', Beast Boy transformed into a mouse, scuttling into the safety of a slight overhang on the curb. The Basilisk's head struck once, twice, at the concrete, before pulling back, and slowly approaching. Beast Boy shut his eyes as tight as he could as the mighty serpent's eyes drew level to the curb.

"Oh man oh man!" he thought to himself. "What am I going to do?" 

~~~~~

Raven stared evenly at the Sphinx. "You are supposed to be a master of riddles, creature," she said evenly. "This riddle is much too easy."

"Is it then? You have not yet answered it. Why not tell me the answer and we shall see just how 'easy' it is," the Sphinx growled quietly.

Raven slowly nodded, her narrowed eyes staring at the Sphinx's own. "Everyone wants to rule, yet few can. Those who can learn to rule have been known to do so badly. 'It' ruins reputations, slaughters innocents, and unjustly imprisons the just," at this the Sphinx sneered, "when abused or used incorrectly. Your answer is simple. Your answer is 'power'."  

~~End part 2~~


	3. The End of Every Place

_My Riddles Three___

_At this point, you should already know what I do and don't own. But let's review. Don't own: Teen Titans, anything related to Teen Titans, any sort of mythological beast. Do own: A killer budgerigar. _

_~~~~~_

"Very good. You have completed my first riddle. And in record time, too, I must say." The Sphinx said. There was no sign of any sort of amazement or even interest in her voice. 

"How good for me," Raven said dryly.

"However, there is one other riddle. And this one will not be so easy as the first," the Sphinx continued, ignoring her captive's perpetual glare.

"I'm waiting," Raven said.  

_"I am the beginning of eternity,_

_The end of time and space_

_The beginning of the end,_

_And the end of every place,"_

The Sphinx grinned at Raven- though the teen's face remained as stoic as ever. "Come, little girl, tell me the answer. After all, it must be as easy as the first, correct?"

~~~~~

Robin watched the roiling smoke for several minutes. There was a confused coughing from within- and then, the Manticora lunged at him. The enormous monster landed right on top of Robin- but did not pin the smaller human with his paws. Robin rolled out from underneath the Manticora, leaving another of his small bombs behind. The bomb exploded on the Manticora's foot.

The blood-red lion creature roared in pain, and then in indignation. "Smoke and pop toys! You fight like a little child! Come, face me as a true warrior, face to face!"

Robin stared dubiously at the Manticora. "Why would I want to do that? You're a giant lion. You'd tear me apart," he said, a little too seriously.

The Manticora stared at Robin for a minute, and then roared at lunged at him. Robin threw another small explosive- the Manticora's lightning-quick tail shot forward, hitting it, sending it rocketing back at him. The bomb exploded at Robin's feet, swallowing him in smoke. Robin stumbled backwards somewhat, coughing and trying to get out of the smoke- the dark figure of the Manticora was suddenly overhead. One massive paw swung at Robin, sending him flying. He landed among the debris of totaled cars- with a groan he fell through one of the cracked windows into the interior. The massive weight of the Manticora landed on the top, denting the metal, and one giant red paw reached inside.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was having his share of trouble with the Hydras. "Why- won't- you- DIE?!?" Cyborg screamed, tearing forests of heads off of the Hydras. More sprung up, hissing just as mindlessly as the first. He couldn't keep ahead of the Hydra's regeneration.

The broken necks and heads of the hydras on the ground around him were still hissing, and would occasionally, to no avail, snap at his feet. He hated to think of what would happen if he fell down, surrounded by broiling masses of snapping heads? 

One of the Half-Hydras had snuck around behind him, and now wrapped its amphibious body around him. The amphibious creature's slime began to work its way into his circuits. "Eech!" Cyborg protested, grabbing the creature's body and trying to slide it off before it could do anymore damage.

  
The Hydra would not come off. The same slime that was affecting his circuits also made it nearly impossible to get a grip on. Its underbelly, however, apparently did not have the same sort of lubrication, because it had no trouble keep hold of *him*. The other Hydra approached menacingly, hissing and flickering its many heads in every direction, looking for a place to strike. One head struck tentatively at his metal arm, broke a tooth, and drew back. The other heads swiveled around, before seeming to focus on his flesh itself. Their poisonous fangs glittered as they prepared to strike…

Starfire felt almost helpless in the sky. She could easily run circles around the Obsidian Gargoyle- shoot far out of its range, and it could hardly catch up to her. But though she could run she could not fight it- all of her attacks against it were utterly worthless.

The alien swirled around the Gargoyle, throwing bolts of green energy at the monster. She might as well have been throwing sticks at it- the energy slid off its hide, slipped from its obsidian skin to disperse harmlessly in the air beyond it. Her attacks did no damage at all. And Starfire could not remember a time that that had happened before.

The Obsidian Gargoyle drew into range and took another swipe at her- she darted out of the way of its ebony claws, and blasted it straight in the chest with green energy. She was only a few feet away from the monster- but still her energy slid off of it like water over glass. 

Starfire turned and fled, but was not quite quick enough to avoid it's claws- the monster struck at her, and the force of it's blow sent her spinning once around, and she tumbled towards the ground. Unable to control her descent she took one final shot at the Gargoyle- and missed, instead blowing out a chunk of the building behind it. The Gargoyle laughed as she fell- and belatedly saw the building falling atop it from behind. Its stone eyes cracked wide open in surprise, and then it was sent hurtling to earth as well, crushed under the weight of part of a building.

Starfire hit the ground hard and lay there, stunned, her body unwilling- or unable to move. So, she only watched in a slight daze as the Obsidian Gargoyle came falling directly towards her. 

The Basilisk was silent for a long moment- but Beast Boy did not dare open his eyes. He knew it was just _waiting for him to look up… to get a full-on glimpse of those deadly eyes…_

But he could not stay here. In frustration the Basilisk struck again, and small pieces of the curb struck Beast Boy's small furry body. The giant viper would shatter the curb and have free access to him. Beast Boy slowly opened his eyes, staring resolutely at the wall. As the Basilisk struck again, he moved his four furry little feet as quickly as he could, racing out from under the curb, under a car, and to the other side, where he changed back to human. He drew one hand across his brow… that was close! But the Basilisk already knew that he had escaped- it just wasn't quite sure where he had gone, as it had been too intent on gnawing on the curb to see Beast Boy run.

Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut and listened. The Basilisk's scales scraped across the concrete as it hunted for him. He could hear the tongue flickering in and out of its frightening fanged mouth. Beast Boy knew the monster could _taste_ him breathing.

'Just one accidental glance full into those eyes and you're done for!' Beast Boy kept chanting to himself. This mantra was far from reassuring. He didn't want to die!

'Think, man, think!' He berated himself. How could he attack something he couldn't look at? How could he defend himself against something he couldn't see? What could take on the baleful stare of a Basilisk…

…except for the Basilisk itself?

"Of course!" Beast Boy shouted aloud.

The rattling hiss of the Basilisk sounded just overhead. Beast Boy transformed, his legs fusing into a long tail, his head stretching infinitely away from his shoulders; he caught sight of his reflection in the side-view mirror of the car and angry red eyes glared back.

Confidently he turned towards the Basilisk. For one minute, the two reptiles locked stares, red eyes staring venomously, hatefully, at each other.

And then Beast Boy felt all of the air driven from his lungs, a crushing weight on his chest… ears buzzing head throbbing thoughts sluggish vision going black…

…and then he felt nothing at all. 

~~~~~

"Well? Well, little girl? What is your answer? Surely you must have one by now," the Sphinx snarled. There was a hint of triumph in her terrible voice.

Raven was silent for a few minutes longer, playing through the riddle again and again in her head. If she got this riddle wrong, she could not doubt the Sphinx would truly eat her- the same force that kept Raven from simply flying away would probably bind her to the rules of this insipid game as well. She had to answer correctly or she would die. And probably all of her friends as well, if they stumbled into this Sphinx's trap…

Again and again she traced the riddle's lines. And when she found the answer, she felt slightly foolish for not having caught it early. "You resort to word games now, Sphinx. Are you so quickly running out of ideas?"

"What is the answer?" The Sphinx persisted. She looked confident that Raven would be wrong.  
  
"The letter 'E'. Both 'eternity' and 'end' start with it. 'Time' and 'place' end with 'E'. And so does the word 'place'. 'E' is your answer," Raven said evenly.

The Sphinx snarled, rage lighting up her face for one minute before dying back down. "Very good little girl… but we are not yet to the end of our riddles. And I guarantee this last riddle will not be so easy to complete as the first…

_"If you solve this riddle then you will go free._

_If you fail, you become my slave for all eternity._

_What is my true name?"_

The Sphinx sat back on her haunches, and smiled viciously at Raven. Raven stared just as evenly back.

"That," she said slowly, "Is even easier than the first."

~~End part 3~~ 


	4. A Riddle for the Riddlemaster

_My Riddles Three___

_Much to my surprise, somewhere between the last chapter and this chapter, no one called me and offered me a mult-million dollar deal to write stories for Teen Titans. ::Sigh:: So I still don't own them. Which is probably a good thing. Actually, it DEFINETLY is a good thing._

_~~~~~_

 "Oh no, now, don't you be looking at me like THAT!" Cyborg exclaimed as the Half-Hydra's heads regarded him predatorily. 

The Hydra wrapped around him seemed more concerned with trying to squeeze him to death than to bite him. Since that was simply not possible, he concentrated more on the one that had decided to try and eat him. Cyborg reached out and grabbed a handful of heads- which squawked in dismay as he crushed their necks. Cyborg regarded the handful of Hydra heads he held- if he simply tore them out…

…Cyborg grabbed another handful of heads- and began to tie the heads together. The Hydra's noxious hiss turned into a squeal of dismay, and it slithered backwards, heads jerking and spasming, trying to free themselves and only succeeding in tightening the knot. "Haha! Take that!" Cyborg exclaimed- and punched one of the heads of the Hydra wrapped around him. "Now get off me!"

The Half-Hydra did not obey. The other Hydra's squeals of dismay and frantic attempts to free itself made the Hydra wrapped around him even more infuriated. It squealed, coughing clouds of poisonous fumes in Cyborg's face, which made him cough, and then began to tighten its coils. The barbed tip of its tail tried to force its way under his metal armor and pry it up. Cyborg reached down to grab the monster's tail- and found that it was not coated with slime like the rest of the creature's vomit-yellow body.

He pulled as hard as he could manage on the tail- inertia opposed him, but the Hydra was not very strong. With a squeal of dismay, the Half Hydra's coils loosened- and slipped away entirely. Cyborg swung the Hydra around once, twice, and then sent it flying towards its companion. The hundreds of heads of the Half-Hydras squealed as they were both sent flying.

Cyborg was about to head after them- when he heard a tremendous crash. He turned towards the noise, only to find what looked like about a quarter of a building strewn across the street. Cyborg cautiously approached cautiously- the rock pile shook, and the Obsidian Gargoyle, now covered in cracks, burst out from beneath the rocks, shrieking its horrible cry.

  
Cyborg stared at it for a minute, and then punched it. His hit knocked a few fist-sized pebbles from the Gargoyle's hide, and sent the monster flying backwards into a car, denting the chassis beyond repair. With a snarl the Gargoyle stumbled back to its feet, and slowly approached.

The Hydras slithered in from the other side, beady black eyes burning with rage and humiliation. Next to Cyborg, Starfire slowly drew herself to her feet, her green eyes misty with pain. She looked up at Cyborg, confusion written across her features.

"Hey Star… want to trade?" Cyborg asked, pointing towards the vile Half-Hydras.

Starfire glanced back at the Gargoyle, which was impervious to her attacks, and nodded. "That seems the reasonable choice," she said shakily.

"Alright! Let's do this…"

Robin was trapped. He pushed himself as far back against the seat of the car as he could; watching as the Manticora dug around for him with one paw that was easily as big as the Boy Wonder's face. Those massive claws were even worse- Robin shuddered at the thought of what would happen if the Manticora did manage to get hold of him. 

"Why are you hiding in there? Come out, come out…" purred the refined voice of the lion monster above him.

For one minute, the shadow of the Manticora moved away. And then, its powerful tail came lancing into the car. The stinger gashed an arm-length hole in the seat next to Robin's leg, and then withdrew. The scorpion tail lashed into the car again- landing just above Robin's head. Robin grabbed out to it.

The Manticora jumped backwards in surprising, dragging Robin up out of the car. The Manticora dropped its tail down in front of it's face. Robin dangled from the end, and the two stared at each other for a moment, neither one moving. "Well, aren't you clever," the Manticora growled. 

"I try," Robin replied, and kicked the Manticora in the eye. The Manticora snarled, recoiling, and its tail shot backwards as well. Robin let go, jumping nimbly to the ground, and ran for cover as the enraged monster pursued. The monster's shrieks of rage seemed much more animalistic now- it was humiliated and insulted and wasn't going to let this little human get away with his tricks for any longer.

The Manticora was much faster than Robin- it swiped out with one massive paw, and its claws caught in Robin's cape, tearing it apart. Robin stumbled, and then fell- and as he went down he could see, at the top of his vision, something long and blue slipping towards him.

The Basilisk and the Manticora had both leapt at Robin at the same time- only Robin's fall had saved him from running straight into the Basilisk's opened mouth. Instead, he had fallen- and the Manticora and Basilisk came head to head. For one moment, the Manticora stared, stunned, at his ally's baleful red eyes…

…and then with a low growl he collapsed onto his side, unmoving.

The Basilisk gave a great, angry rattling hiss, and lowered its head towards Robin. Its vile breath baked the back of his neck…

"Hey! Over here!" Beast Boy shouted.

The Basilisk whipped its head to one side- but could see nothing. It hissed angrily at the distraction- but when it looked back down towards its prey, Robin had already disappeared. He had slid underneath a car, and watched the Basilisk's metallic scales scrape slowly over the concrete. A small green mouse ran up alongside Robin, and transformed back into Beast Boy- the changeling's eyes were red and slightly swollen. "So… uh… you have any ideas?"

"I might. What happened to you?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy looked uncertain for a minute, and then said glibly, "I got a little something in my eye. Now, come on! How do we beat this thing?"

Robin glanced once more towards the fallen Manticora, and then over towards the shifting scales of the Basilisk. "I have an idea…"      

~~~~~  
  


The Sphinx glared down at Raven. "What? You say you have solved my last riddle already? You lie."

"Why would I lie?" Raven asked sharply. "I would still have to answer your riddle. You would know if I answered incorrectly."

"So, little girl?" The Sphinx spat, "what is the answer?"

"It is another word puzzle- another silly trick. The first half of the riddle has nothing to do with the answer at all. What- is your name. The answer is 'What'," Raven said, with a slight sneer.   
  
The Sphinx rose up on her hind legs, lion paws rising to claw at the air. "What? Impossible! Impossible! You must have cheated! No one answers the riddles of the Sphinx!"

"But I have. And that means I can go free," Raven said. But the Sphinx's hold on her had yet to release- Raven's legs still felt like dead, leaden weights, her arms still would not move. And the dismayed expression on the Sphinx's face had turned to one of snake-like triumph.

"Does it?"

Raven glared steadily at the Sphinx, all the while struggling against the beast's powerful mental bonds. She could not escape the Sphinx's hold… struggling drained her reserves too quickly. Raven's head dropped in exhaustion.

"You still struggle… do you not know that it is impossible? I have far too much power for you…" The Sphinx growled, laughter ringing her terrible voice.

Slowly, Raven raised her head, and now her eyes burned with anger… but this anger seemed more purposeful then before.

"Everyone wants it…" Raven murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

"What?" The Sphinx hissed.

Raven choked on her words, and could only quietly force them from between her lips. "Everyone wants it, yet it belongs to a few, fewer still can use it… harm… comes to those who do…"

  
The Sphinx cackled. "I see you have a good memory!" It hissed… but looked somewhat disturbed. Raven felt the bonds around her loosen somewhat- when she spoke again, her voice no longer quavered helplessly in her throat. 

"I have many feathers to help me fly. I have a body and head, but I'm not alive. It is your strength which determines how far I go. You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown," Raven hissed.

"You ask the master of riddles a riddle? Arrow! Arrow is your answer," the Sphinx growled. Her menacing face grew closer, fangs glistening in the sterile light of the Titan's Tower.

"You hear it speak, for it has hard tongue. It cannot breathe for it hath no lung," Raven said, her voice becoming somewhat more desperate as her struggles against the Sphinx's mental bond proved fruitless. 

The Sphinx was silent for a moment- an imperceptible moment in which Raven felt her tethers weaken enough that she could move. Raven dropped to her hands and knees on the ground- the Sphinx took a step backwards, looking slightly nervous, and Raven slowly drew herself to her feet. Already she could feel her strength returning as the Sphinx's faded.  
  
"It is a bell… a bell…"   
  
"Yes," Raven said, drawing herself to her full height. She glared down at the Sphinx, slightly rising herself from the ground. "What draws in all but has no claws, follows the crowd but never walks, and consumes all without a mouth?"

The Sphinx was silent. The mighty beast appeared to shrink before Raven's eyes. "I… I do not…"

The grin that now crossed over Raven's face was as horrible as the Sphinx's had been before, her eyes glowing harshly white. "The answer is Death!"

A blast of black telekinetic energy burst from Raven's hands, swept towards the Sphinx, eating into the mythical riddle queen. The monster was pressed up against the wall, engulfed, consumed… and when Raven finally dropped her hands, there remained nothing of the Sphinx left behind except for one long brown feather… 

~~End part 4~~


	5. Eye to Eye with the Basilisk

_My Riddles Three___

_Still don't own Teen Titans. ::Deep Sigh:: Though I MIGHT have run all the way from __Michigan__ to __Hollywood__ a few hours ago and I MIGHT have thrown a brick through Pixar's window… what… what do you mean Pixar doesn't make Teen Titans? Oops… _

_~~~~~_

Raven stood, immobile, for one minute, staring at the shadow on the wall where the Sphinx had once stood. Now, rather than a half-human mythical monster's shadow cast against the wall an entirely different half-human's shadow peered back at her…

She reached down and picked up the Sphinx's single feather from the ground- it had a tuft of thick brown fur at the base, and the rest was decorated black markings that seemed to be the alphabet to some obscure language. She put it inside her cloak.

Raven heaved a shuddering sigh. She took one shaking step, and nearly collapsed, belatedly realizing just how much energy the Sphinx had taken from her… and how much she had expended in destroying the monster. Raven stumbled down the hallway, before her shuddering limbs failed her and she collapsed in a heap on the ground. This prone position felt so comforting to her exhausted limbs that they refused to move, no matter how hard she tried to push herself up. *I have to help my friends…* she thought to herself.

*No… by now, they'll be doing alright without me…* Another part of Raven's mind assured her.

Gratefully, though unwillingly, Raven fell into an unconscious sleep.

~~~~~

Starfire found the Hydras a little easier to handle.

  
The ground bound snakes hissed angrily- but impotently- below her, their multiple heads twining, teeth flashing, but ultimately they were out of range. Starfire threw a starbolt at the nearest Hydra- hitting it at the base of its multiple heads. The limbs were blasted off like icicle plucked from a windowsill- and none grew back, the wounds having been cauterized at their source. The Half-Hydra, with now half as many heads as well, hissed angrily, and its companion turned and fled.

"Not so quickly!" Starfire chided, taking off after the first of the Half-Hydras. The one she had knocked half of the heads off of chased her shadow, biting futilely at the concrete. Starfire blasted the fleeing Hydra directly in the back- its slimy body exploded, showering nearby pavement and parked cars with its deadly acid blood.

Starfire fired at the Hydra directly below her, blowing another mass of heads from its body- and then the massive form of the Basilisk reared up before her. "Oh!" Starfire yelped, and banked sharply away to avoid its gaze- so sharply that she nearly collided with a lamp post. The alien shot to one side to avoid the collision- and then was forced to land to keep from crash-landing.

The disgusting form of the Hydra reared up behind her, its heads hissing- Starfire wheeled around, an enormous bolt of energy crackling from between her outstretched hands. The Hydra disappeared in a flash of green light and was utterly reduced to ash.

"Starfire, look out!" Robin shouted, and with another yelp, Starfire rocketed upwards, safely out of the reach of the Basilisk that had been directly behind her. The vile viper hissed angrily, and then slithered in the direction of Robin's voice.

Cyborg was also doing well against the Gargoyle- unlike the Hydras; the Gargoyle could not as easily regenerate a shattered limb. The Obsidian Gargoyle slashed at Cyborg, one enormous ebony claw streaking towards him- Cyborg caught it, and ripped it off. 

Stone split, cracked, and pebbles rained down on Cyborg's head. The Gargoyle screeched in pain, and struck out with its other claw, sending Cyborg flying, but not doing any damage to his metal chassis. Cyborg jumped to his feet, and rose his arm- it turned into the sonic blaster.

The Gargoyle watched this transformation silently. "You like this?" Cyborg asked.

The rock monster opposite of him screeched, its face cracking into a terrible snarl, and started forwards.  "Oh, I guess you want a private testing, huh?" Cyborg exclaimed.

His sonic blaster fired- blue and white crackling energy shot at the Gargoyle, piercing it through. Chunks of stone were blasted out of its tattered, cracked hide- after the collision with the concrete; its smooth obsidian hide had cracked and left plenty of places for energy to catch. The Gargoyle's eyes cracked into a look of dismay, and it fell backwards.

  
The monster hit the ground, cracking apart into several different pieces. The glittering luster of its living stone hide was replaced with the dull form of concrete and granite. "Alright! Who's the boss?" Cyborg exclaimed in delight. 

Robin and Beast Boy went racing past. "Run, Cyborg! RUN!" Robin exclaimed.

  
"Run from *what*?" Cyborg demanded, turning around.

  
"Noooo Cyborg!" Starfire shrieked from high above.

Cyborg looked straight up into the baleful gaze of the Basilisk… 

…and nothing happened. The Basilisk hissed in surprise when Cyborg did not immediately perish.

The rest of his team had been staring at their robot friend- now their jaws dropped in disbelief. "You… how are you…" Robin began.

Cyborg turned to grin at Robin and pointed at his red electronic eye. He had closed his human eye. "Only seeing the snake in infra-red!" He said in delight.

The Basilisk had watched this for a minute, and now hissed in rage. It swung its massive head, hitting Cyborg- who still had his back turned to the monster- a crushing blow, and sending flying across the clearing. The enormous viper then shot towards where Beast Boy and Robin stood, head lowered to the ground, fanged mouth open, tiny, semi-formed limbs dragging at its side. 

Once again, Beast Boy transformed into the Basilisk to meet the other creature head on. This time, before he even met the other snake's stare his eyes were burning. He locked stares with the monster, and fell, stricken, once again driven to the ground by the *real* Basilisk's stare.

The Basilisk itself was also stunned, though not quite as badly- it shook its head from side to side, trying to clear the burning sensation. Starfire channeled a blast of green energy into the snake- the monster hissed, and writhed as it was struck, throwing up a cloud of dirt around it.

  
This gave Robin an idea.

  
The Boy Wonder pulled two smoke bombs from his belt- the last two he had left, and threw them both at the Basilisk. Clouds of smoke erupted around the snake- obscuring it from view. The Basilisk hissed in dismay, all of its senses obscured by the smoke.

Robin could hear the giant viper's movements within the smoke- could hear its hissing, and could hear the movement of its scales over the concrete, like a thousand knives scraped over stone…

He pulled his staff from his belt, poled it out to its full length, and then leapt into the smoke. "Oh Robin! Be careful!" Starfire cried in distress as Robin disappeared into the roiling vapors.

There was a single loud, pained hiss from within the smoke- and then Robin reappeared, now empty handed. He stumbled over to where Beast Boy was rubbing his eyes, fully human, and watched the cloud of smoke as it slowly dissipated into the wind.

The mighty Basilisk had it's head held high, mouth agape- it's eyes transfixed by a long, metal object- Robin's staff, piercing directly through one eye into the other. The snake gave one final, throaty hiss, and then teetered, its scales scraping together like a thousand blacksmiths sharpening their knives- before it collapsed, hitting the ground with a resounding metallic clang. 

Robin's staff, the metallic parts of it touched by the Basilisk's blood, disintegrated, and then Basilisk's vile blood flowed freely onto the concrete, burning holes in the rock.

Cyborg stumbled up, holding his head and staring at the remains of the vile snake- and then their leader- in slight awe and surprise. Starfire landed alongside the rest of the team, staring at Robin, her mouth half open and somewhere between a gasp of shock and a smile. Beast Boy simply looked up at Robin and said, in an altogether too-chipper voice, "Cool!"

"Well," said Robin, glancing around at the ruined block of the city, "I think that's about the end of that…"

~~~~~

"Yoo-hoo… sleepy head… time to get up now…" 

  
Cyborg's irritatingly cheerful voice invaded Raven's blissfully dreamless sleep, and she jerked her head upwards. Her teammates stood around her. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all looked slightly amused at their teammate asleep on the floor- Robin looked quite annoyed.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

Raven sat up, and then stood up, brushing herself off. "Not in the least," she replied in her classic monotone.

"Well, we could have used your help back there," Robin said evenly.

"What a coincidence, I could have used your help back *here*," Raven said, easily keeping the indignation out of her voice as she was still too drained and exhausted to offer much of a fight. 

"What's the matter, Raven; nightmares?" Beast Boy asked cheerfully, a huge grin on his green face.

Raven regarded Beast Boy coldly- he shrank back in surprise at her glare. "No," she said darkly, "I had to see to our guest…" she said, and pulled the Sphinx's feather from her cloak, handing it to Robin. It was easily as long as his forearm, and nearly as wide. He looked up at Raven, a question written on his lips.

"Later," Raven said, waving one hand, "now, if you'll excuse me…" she continued, and headed up to her room, closing the door firmly behind her.

She had had enough questions to last her a lifetime. 

~~fin~~ 


End file.
